Double play key weapon for Mississippi State

Jun. 21, 2013

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OMAHA, NEB. — It won’t appear in any player’s statistics. A basic box score usually omits it. But Friday at TD Ameritrade Park in Mississippi State’s 4-1 win against Oregon State, the double-play shone as bright as it ever has.

The Bulldogs used three against the Beavers in advancing to the College World Series final, increasing their season total to 80.

“It’s just pitching down in the zone with sink,” MSU reliever Ross Mitchell said. “That comes with ground balls, and if you’re going to get ground balls, it takes defenders who know how to handle the grounds balls.”

Mississippi State plays team defense as well as anyone. It’s 80 twin-killings rank second in the country behind Towson’s 81, and the Bulldogs turn 1.16 per game, which places them fifth nationally.

Friday, the Beavers put runners on base with less than two outs in five innings. Three of those situations resulted in double plays.

“It’s a trust thing too,” Mitchell said. “When I have a runner on first, if I make a good pitch, my defense has the potential to get me out of it and they’ve been able to do that plenty of times for me this year.”

In the sixth inning, MSU narrowly missed another opportunity. Mitchell walked Joey Matthews, then induced a ground ball to second. Bulldogs second baseman Brett Pirtle thought about trying to cut down the lead runner but settled for an out at first.

The game’s first ground-ball double play came in the fifth, after Danny Hayes singled to center to give OSU its first leadoff runner of the game. On the next pitch, a 4-6-3 double play erased him.

“I think it gets our offense going too in an inning ending double play,” Mitchell said. “They’re putting pressure on you and you get that double play and send us back into the dugout and it gets the dugout out energized.”

To contact Michael Bonner, call (601) 961-7289. He is @MikeBBonner on Twitter.